Great job to the folks at the Adventures on the Gorge Whitewater rafting trip!
Details
We were on an 8 person raft adventure on the Lower New River. We never did this before and honestly were nervous. We heard that the lower river was best for beginners, but it had rained 2 inches the night before, resulting in 3 more feet of water on the river - so the ~3 hr trip....... was much faster at ~2 hrs and we had class 2-4 rapids instead of slower ones
There was an in depth 25 minute safety briefing that was so in depth it made us a bit uncomfortable. I suppose this is what they have to do and a normal for us rookies, but it was very thorough and we paid attention. We were told we must be able to swim in some way shape or form. We were told that if we do everything (paddling when instructed, etc) at the right time, we'd have a good day, and that's exactly what we did lol - safety first always, right? They helped us with our PFD's to make sure they were attached correctly
The cool thing we LOVED was our guide. Hats off to "Mogul Mike" - he was awesome ! He knew every inch of the river with his 30+ years of experience. He put us at ease after we got the gist of it and started negotiating the first few of the ~17 rapids. He was so experienced, he even knew when to position the boat backwards as the river current would eventually rotate us gently to forward facing. He explained all the history and geology during the down time between rapids. So impressive and we would go with him again. We felt safe with him. Great job
We had other boats with us as part of the event - and that's part of the event - they all look out for each other for safety. Remember to wear sunscreen. They also have go-pro adaptable helmets
The events ends with the bus shuttling everyone back and photos and videos of the event are available for purchase.
Great job and we would attend again - we are also reviewing the lodging and site in another review - not included in this review